Recharging energy by taking an open source vacation
I recently went on vacation from work for 3 weeks. In years past, a work vacation for me has typically meant that I would be spending more time working on open source projects. It's funny, when I talk to non-programmer friends, they're often surprised by how much unpaid programming we do in our spare time. Work on open source is usually not directly profitable, though it is rewarding. This vacation, I decided to also take a break from my open source projects. Hell, I even didn't use my laptop for most days, and barely used my phone. And that has felt amazing.
I've been burnt out before, both with my day job and my open source work. Neither cases were pleasant, and it was so sad that one of my greatest passions in life, programming, became a chore as opposed to an obsession. I wasn't close to burn out prior to this vacation, but being able to let go of the internal pressure I put on myself to work on open source has been very welcome. The truth is that most open source work can wait, and it shouldn't feel bad to delay some implementations so that you can relax.
That being said, I did end up doing some open source work: I gave an opening talk at 3:30am while suffering from altitude sickness, remotely, at an internal conference. It was a good talk, though it started with technical problems on the organiser's end, so they didn't hit record in time. I think I will give it again, soon, with an openly public link so anyone can watch.
I've had many ideas these last few weeks - about society, cities and their infrastructure, and my role in the world. Things that I often think about in small doses, but have now had the time and energy to think about in a bigger picture. There hasn't been an epiphany that will completely change my life, but a clearer direction I want to go.
I've long wanted to help people, more than I have been able to. To help others achieve things they felt impossible or out of their reach. To help financially is one thing, but to coach and guide others is also valuable, and a direction I think I can take. I've started an event with this goal in mind, within my city. The concept is simple: computer science discussions for those who have either skipped university or finished university, and want to discuss topics that they don't get to at their jobs: weird algorithms, data structures, language design, types. My longer term ambition is to provide an environment where these discussions could be more than an evening, similarly to the Recurse Center. I've put my plans for this in motion prior to vacationing, but during the vacation I saw and met new people that this concept might help. And that's a great driver for my goals.
It is probably no surprise to the reader of this post that vacations are great. But for me, it's been a great reminder of why they are great. It's easy to say that work, where you feel stress and pressure from meetings and deadlines, is a good thing to take a vacation from. But the same is true of open source, where motivation and inspiration is what drives persistence. Open source projects where there is so many topics for you test or try out also benefit from taking a few moments to think about what needs to be done. I don't think my work on Derw will diverge much as a result of my vacation, but I do think that when I finally start coding again, I will approach it with fresh eyes. Maybe workflows which previously annoyed me will inspire me to simplify them, maybe the arenas that I talk about Derw in will change. But one thing's for sure: I'm not burnt out, and I won't be for a long while now.
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